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Mr. Speaker, do members know what we do on this side of the aisle? We look people in the eye and say we will defend their jobs, and that is exactly what this auto strategy is about. It is about supporting auto production in Canada. We are making sure that we are talking to Koreans, to Germans and to Chinese to create good jobs in this country. We will not just let our industry go bit by bit to the…
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Mr. Speaker, grocery prices are indeed rising; we know that, which is why we are in problem-solving mode. We have proposed a solution to Parliament—a clear solution that is also supported by the Conservative side—which aims to give $1,200 back to a family of four and $900 back to a single person. We are here to help Canadians in these times of food inflation.
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Mr. Speaker, we are here for Canadians, and we are here for the long term. The program is planned for a five-year period, which will help support families throughout this time of rising grocery prices. We are also here for Canadians through other programs such as the Canada child benefit and the national school food program. The good news is that the federal government and the Quebec government ha…
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Mr. Speaker, we have good news today. In fact, the Conservatives are going to vote in favour of our plan to help ordinary people pay for their groceries. It is an important plan. It means that the most vulnerable families across the country are going to receive $1,800 each. We want to thank the Conservatives for finally seeing the light and realizing that our plan works.
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Mr. Speaker, since September we have created 189,000 jobs. This is great news for Canada. That is more jobs created in Canada than in the U.S. We have the second-fastest-growing economy. Let me give examples: Alstom, with 240 new jobs in Thunder Bay, 150 new jobs at Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and 100 new jobs in La Pocatière; 330 new jobs at Bombardier; 300 new jobs at Vale-Glencore in Sudbury; at…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague, but she is not referring to all the important data. The data shows there has been an increase in wages year over year of 3.4%, while inflation was at 2.4%. Basically, wages are increasing more than inflation. At the same time, in December, the Bank of Canada maintained its interest rate at 2.25%, and the governor mentioned that the economy was…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that we have a plan and it is called the budget 2025 implementation act, no. 1. We have been seeing obstruction from the opposition, the Conservatives, for far too long. Unfortunately, in these tough times, where the geopolitical situation is very intense and families across the country are struggling to make ends meet, Canadians expect us to be able to wo…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague and, quite frankly, we are already doing many of the things he suggested, including cutting red tape. I find it fascinating that the Conservatives never, ever criticize any of the messaging that comes out of the White House. They will never say the tariffs are unjustifiable and unjustified. They will never say there is a trade war. They will never say the vi…
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Mr. Speaker, clearly the people who work in the lumber and forestry sector are affected by the tariff war. That is why we have introduced several important measures. My colleague, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, is working on a plan. In the meantime, we have measures through the Business Development Bank of Canada, or BDC, and through Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. I…
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Mr. Speaker, of course, our hearts and minds are with the auto workers, and we are there for them. Again, this morning, I was on the phone with Premier Ford and with Vic Fedeli, working on new opportunities to bring even more auto making to the country. That being said, what we never hear from the Conservatives is the fact that these auto workers are victims of the unjustifiable U.S. tariffs. Why …
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Mr. Speaker, who will get Oshawa's auto workers' jobs back? My colleague is misleading the House, because what she is missing in the Trillium report she is referring to is that in 2016, Japanese automakers were responsible for 44% of auto production in Canada. At this point, it is now 77%. We will invest in those who invest in us, and we will support those who are making sure our auto workers are …
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Mr. Speaker, what is clear from the government is that, notwithstanding the U.S. tariffs, after 10 years, we were able to create 3,000 new jobs at the Windsor NextStar battery plant, which the Conservatives are against. Why are are they against 3,000 jobs in Windsor? We were also able to create 4,000 jobs in St. Thomas in a Conservative riding. Why are they against it? Why are we not all working t…
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Mr. Speaker, across the country we have great news. There are new jobs in Thunder Bay at Alstom. There are new jobs in La Pocatière in Quebec. There are new jobs in St. Thomas with Volkswagen. There are new jobs at Vale and Glencore in Sudbury. There are new jobs at Bombardier in Montreal. There are new jobs at Hitachi in Varennes. There are new jobs at K+S Potash in Bethune, Saskatchewan. Also, t…
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Mr. Speaker, we are already cutting bureaucracy and taxes. We did so for 22 million Canadians a while ago. In fact, this was a bill that should have gotten more support from our colleagues. Not only are we the second economy in the G7 in terms of growth, but more jobs are being created in Canada than the United States. Since 2025, 189,000 jobs have been created.
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when certain countries are cutting research, at a time when academic freedom is under attack, we believe in science and we believe in research. That is why we have launched our new talent attraction strategy with a budget of $1.7 billion to attract the best and the brightest to the country. This is one of the biggest budgets on earth to make sure that we bring them to our co…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been to Oshawa. I have met with the workers. I know how much they are frustrated and anxious. That is why we are standing side by side with them. That is why, also, I have been in contact with Unifor, their union. I have been in contact with GM itself. That is also why we are getting our money back from GM. That is also why we have restricted GM's access to the Canadian market.…
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Mr. Speaker, this government was the first one to create jobs in the auto sector. At this point, there are 3,000 new jobs in St. Thomas because of the Volkswagen battery plant, which they are against. At this point in the last year, 3,000 more jobs were created in Windsor at the Stellantis and NextStar plant because of this government, and they are against it. Stop being against auto workers. We a…
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Mr. Speaker, we have no lesson to take from the Conservatives, who bailed out GM and protected their executives rather than their workers. That is exactly what they did at the time. What we are doing is coming up with a plan. They have no plan whatsoever. We presented it to Premier Ford. What did he say? He said it was a really good plan. We will have good news soon.
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with our workers in the auto sector who are victims of the unjustified and unjustifiable American tariffs, and we will continue to fight for their jobs. When it comes to Stellantis, we had a deal, and Stellantis broke it. We will go after the money.
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Mr. Speaker, do members know what gross negligence is? It is when the Conservatives, under Harper, decided to do a deal to bail out GM and Chrysler, and shook hands with these two giants. Two Ford plants closed, a GM plant closed, and Orion Bus closed. We have no lessons to take from the Conservatives. We were the first government to bring jobs back to the auto sector, and there are 3,000 right no…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is engaging in wilful blindness because he is selectively choosing the figures he wants to report. The reality is that inflation is down to 2.2%. The reality is that wages are up by 3.3%. This means that people have more money to deal with the cost of living. For our part, as a government, we are ensuring a strong social safety net and cutting taxes. We are there with our…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers elected 44 representatives in Quebec so that we could take care of the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs. Our plan is working. GDP growth is at 3.2%. Inflation is under control at 2.2%. In September, 60,000 jobs were created. In October, 67,000 jobs were created. We have the strongest growth in the G7. We still have a lot to do, we know that, but we are growing the econom…
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Mr. Speaker, we take things very seriously when it comes to investing taxpayers' money, and when it comes to Stellantis, we had a deal. They broke it, and we will make sure that we get our money back, period.
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Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to take from the Conservatives. In 2009, when the Harper government decided to bail out and shake hands with GM and Chrysler. At the time, it gave them $28 billion of Canadian taxpayers' money with no job guarantee. Two GM plants closed, one in Oshawa and another in Windsor, and one Ford assembly plant closed as well. An Orion Bus plant also closed in Mississauga. T…
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Mr. Speaker, we do not need any lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to courage and standing up for workers who are unionized. That is why I was in Brampton, along with the workers, and that is why I was even talking to Lana Payne a bit earlier today. What was she telling me? She was telling me how when Harper and the Conservative government at the time, in 2009, decided to bail out GM and…
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Mr. Speaker, when my colleague is talking about corporate welfare, what I am saying to him is that workers are worth every dime, particularly Algoma ones in light of the American unjustified tariffs. That is exactly why we decided, along with the Conservatives in Ontario, with Doug Ford's government, to support the company as it was facing an existential threat. The company was not going well. We …
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I did not admit that; second, I read the contract, and third, the committee members will have all the details. That being said, what we will do is fight for these jobs. We know that the workers are affected in the auto sector and the steel sector by the unjustified and unjustifiable American tariffs. We will make sure that we get these jobs back in Canada, and we w…
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Mr. Speaker, I have three points. First, the member should ask the member for Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore on his side of the House whether she agrees with what he says regarding the Stellantis workers in Windsor. Second, when it comes to the documents, the committee members will have access to all the documents. That is a moot question. Third, when it comes to what is happening with Stellantis in B…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a news flash: We are in a trade war. Therefore, because of what is happening right now, we are fighting for the jobs at Algoma Steel and across the steel sector in the country. That is why we have been there for the—
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Mr. Speaker, my point is that we will continue to fight for these jobs. The company was clear today: If it was not for that $400 million and the $100 million from Ontario, the very existence of Algoma Steel would be in jeopardy.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, our thoughts are with the workers at Algoma Steel. I have been in contact with the company. I have also been in contact with the union. We know the entire business model of the steel sector in Canada is based on U.S. automakers. Obviously, with unjustifiable tariffs of 50% by the U.S. administration against our steel sector, this can happen. We have been working with the co…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague and a lot of respect for his dad and for all the people who have worked or are working at Algoma Steel. That is why our priority and my priority is to make sure they can continue to earn a great salary at Algoma Steel as the company is adapting to new types of steel for the defence sector and also for the housing sector. I must say that our buy…
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Mr. Speaker, we are all very much aware that auto workers are affected by the unjustifiable and unjustified American tariffs. That is why we have been supporting all of them, working with Unifor and working with Lana Payne, who is on speed dial and to whom I speak pretty much every day. This being said, we will continue to fight against Stellantis to make sure it brings back its operation in Bramp…
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Mr. Speaker, not only did the entire team read it, but we also read what the Harper government did in 2009 when it bailed out GM and Chrysler at the time. What we saw was that there was no job protection in that deal. What we will do now is make sure we fight for these jobs. We will make sure we will put maximum pressure. The Conservatives should stop whining. They should just get on board and mak…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, our thoughts are with the workers affected by the unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs imposed by the White House. We will continue to work with them as Algoma Steel goes through a difficult situation, to say the least. My team and I have been in contact with Algoma's leadership team. We absolutely have every confidence in the Algoma workers as they are going through this …
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Mr. Speaker, the 44 members from Quebec are very proud to defend this government and to stand up for the interests of Quebeckers because, during the last election, Quebeckers told us that they wanted us to be able to protect them from what was happening in the United States. Given the changing geopolitical context and given that the United States is also making its own decisions regarding energy p…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague. We work together very well. What he and I both know is that ordinary Quebeckers want to be able to get good jobs. At a time when the U.S. administration is imposing a host of tariffs, we must always be there to protect businesses that provide good jobs in Quebec's regions. I am therefore going to keep working with him, especially in summer, so…
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Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ, because the workers do not agree with my colleague's statement. The Unifor unionized workers are completely behind the government's plan to push back against any form of movement at Ingersoll, because we believe GM can act, along with the government and along with Unifor, to bring back a new model. Meanwhile, I have had several meetings. I even went to Ingersoll. I me…
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Mr. Speaker, we have seen better from my colleague. I think my colleague should spend more time with people in the auto sector, the forestry sector and the steel and aluminum sector. Why? These individuals are asking us to open international markets and reduce our dependence on the U.S., as my colleague from Louis‑Hébert was saying. That is because it is very, very important for us to be able to e…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague, but I think he should call Lana Payne, the head of Unifor, which represents the Bombardier workers in Montreal. That is because, following the fact that we changed the tax regime on that particular aspect linked to jets, Bombardier announced 600 new jobs in Montreal and Quebec. Obviously, like the NDP, we are in favour of unionized jobs, we ar…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that my colleague would venture to talk in the House of Commons about the Parti Québécois's new plan to create a new currency for Quebec. Quebeckers are very concerned. They are wondering whether there is really going to be a third referendum, whether we are going to lose our purchasing power and whether, at a time when the American president is threatening Canada's …
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Mr. Speaker, the member is really living in the world of political fiction, but that is good because it shows people from the various caucuses of all the other parties what is really going on within the Parti Québécois in Quebec and the Bloc Québécois here. One thing is clear: We will be there for Quebeckers with our 44 members in the House. We will defend our economy and our jobs. We will invest …
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Mr. Speaker, the only person hiding under a rock right now is the Leader of the Opposition when he looks at his caucus. I think the Leader of the Opposition wants to make sure that the Canadian economy remains dependent on the U.S. economy. I think that is his strategy and he is not being up front about it with Canadians. On our side of the House, the strategy is to diversify our markets and creat…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has not read the budget. If he had, perhaps he would have seen what is happening right now. We are reducing the government's operating expenses. If he did not see that, perhaps that is why he voted against the budget, or perhaps he is just acting in bad faith. He is against the jobs that we are trying to create across the country, against investments in de…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to pick up on what my colleague, the finance critic, said, because the reality is that things do not stop there. We have even more good investments on the way. My colleague opposite is from Mirabel, and he knows that aerospace is important. I hope he will be as passionate in defending the government's investments in aerospace as he has been here today. If he votes against t…
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Mr. Speaker, we are very proud to have 44 members from Quebec on this side of the House, which is the largest contingent of members from Quebec ever in this place. We are there to support Quebeckers. Quebeckers asked us for money for health care. We delivered, with hospitals, emergency rooms and medical clinics. We also received support from Quebeckers for our French language and culture initiativ…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Quebeckers support the budget because we have met their expectations with good jobs in my colleague's riding, including in La Pocatière. The people who work at Alstom are going to be able to have good jobs. They will be able to buy groceries and support their families. Quebeckers also want a good health care system. At the federal level, we ensured that transfers continue…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating when an MP from Quebec stands up and says that Quebec's aerospace industry is not important. Thanks to the government's decision, yesterday, Bombardier announced that it would be creating 600 new jobs in Quebec. As a former colleague of François Legault at the National Assembly of Quebec, my colleague should call the premier of Quebec and tell him that he is agai…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Cumberland—Colchester and I, and this government, are laser-focused on making sure that we bring down costs in the telecom sector. We took the right decision this summer to uphold the decision of the CRTC to increase competition in the telecommunications sector. We also said we would be hawkish on competition. We will do more in this budget to increase competition an…
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Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague well, and I also know his riding well, and one thing is clear: Talk about military spending and investment has an impact in his riding of Mirabel. It will have an impact on CAE. It will have an impact on Airbus. It will have an impact on Bell Textron Canada. It will have an impact on thousands of jobs in Mirabel. Is my colleague saying that this budget does not pro…
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